For almost a month, this part of the region will be in poll mode. Right from April 10 to May 7, the much-awaited lok Sabha elections would be held in the States of Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, besides the Union Territory of Chandigarh.
While Haryana and Chandigarh would go to polls on April 10, Punjab would witness voting on April 30, and the hill State on May 7, as per the schedule released by the Election Commission of India on Wednesday. The counting of votes would be held on the same day across the country on May 16.
For 13 parliamentary constituencies in Punjab, the notification for polls would be issued on April 2. The last date for filing the nominations would be April 9, and scrutiny would be held on April 10, and last date for withdrawal is April 12, informed the Punjab Chief Electoral Officer VK Singh. Singh said that with the announcement of general elections by the ECI, Model Code of Conduct has come into force with immediate effect, and will be in force till the completion of the election process.
He said that five constituencies — Patiala, Gurdaspur, Amritsar, Ferozepur, and Bathinda — are expenditure sensitive parliamentary constituencies where there would be more expenditure observers as compared to others. “Static Surveillance Teams and Expenditure Observers would be more than normal in these constituencies,” said Singh. Giving details of the voters, Singh said that a total of 1.92 crore voters, including 90 lakh female, would exercise their Right to Franchise on around 30,000 electronic voting machines (EVMs) at 21,957 polling stations, including 15,463 in the rural areas.
He said that the lowest number of 13,73,898 voters are in Fatehgarh Sahib and maximum 15,44,562 are in Patiala constituency. Area wise, the smallest constituency is ludhiana and the largest is Bathinda, he added.
Singh said that since 2012 Assembly elections, seven lakh new voters, including 2.5 lakh first timers, have been added to the total electorate. Maintaining that the surveillance would be strict, he said that three teams of observers would be stationed in each constituency, while seven teams would be stationed in expenditure sensitive constituencies. Besides, videography, micro observers, and still cameras would keep a tab on the entire activity.
Singh clarified that even as he has not received any guidelines from the Central Commission on cash-limit, he said that the payment of more than Rs 20,000 should be by cheque, “for huge amounts, one has to explain the source, and it comes under the income tax department”. For the purpose of elections, the Commission has asked for Rs 95 crore from the State Government. “We have given them our requirement, and the State would present its vote-on-account on March 7,” said Singh.
On the Congress complaint against the State police chief Sumedh Singh Saini seeking his removal in view of a criminal case pending against him, the CEO said that now the code of conduct has come into force, and the matter is before the Election Commission which would decide on the entire issue. As per ECI guidelines, the leaders have been barred from making any announcement or any decision to lure the voters. Singh also clarified that no minister should combine his official and political work as that would be in violation of the code. He also made it clear that the official vehicle, be it four-wheeler or chopper, should be used only for official purpose.